Will Warren Buffett Have The Last Laugh?
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The Berkshire Hathaway 2021 Annual Meeting took place in Los Angeles on May 1, 2021, and reunited Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger for several hours of questions from Berkshire shareholders.
But never fear if you missed it, as the headlines from the meeting picked out the key topics of utmost importance.
Those were:
- Buffett and Munger compared the Robinhood app to gambling in a casino.
- Munger called Bitcoin “disgusting.”
- On SPACs, Buffett said it was killing them because they weren’t competitive in deals but that it “won’t go on forever.”
- Apparently, no one asked the oracle about Dogecoin (were they saving that for next year?)
The result was an outcry on Twitter denouncing Buffett and Munger for their comments, with many saying they were old, out of touch, and irrelevant.
Deja-Vu?
Some of the complaints were almost identical to those in 1999 when Barron’s put out its now infamous article titled, “What’s wrong, Warren?”
That was in response to the underperformance of Berkshire stock that year, which actually finished down over 20% while the S&P 500 finished up over 20% and tech stocks soared.
In 2008, Reuters wrote an article with the title, “Is Warren Buffett losing his touch?” just before he got the deal of the decade in his bailout of Bank of America during the financial crisis.
Out of Touch in 2021?
Buffett is now 90 and Munger is 97.
They both have publicly had a disdain for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, for several years.
Were people really thinking they would come out at the meeting and announce a big Bitcoin investment when they don’t own gold, real estate, or bonds?
Buffett and Munger talk their book.
That book is stocks.
5 Value Stocks for 2021
Despite stocks being at new all-time highs, there are still value stocks out there.
Buffett looks for companies with solid value fundamentals, including low P/Es, P/S ratios, and P/B ratios.
If you add on a high Zacks Rank of Buy or Strong Buy, you get a powerful combination.
1. Bunge (BG - Free Report) is an agribusiness company with global operations. Food is king in 2021. Bunge shares are hitting new highs but are still cheap with a forward P/E of 13.4. It also pays a dividend, currently yielding 2.3%.
2. JPMorgan Chase (JPM - Free Report) is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). This banking giant is cheap, with a forward P/E of 11.8, even though shares are up 70% in the last year.
3. Beazer Homes (BZH - Free Report) is a small cap national home builder that is dirt cheap even with shares up 230% over the last year. Earnings are expected to soar 58.7% in fiscal 2021. It’s trading with a forward P/E of 8.3 and a P/S ratio of just 0.3.
4. MarineMax (HZO - Free Report) is the largest recreational boat retailer in the United States. Americans are still traveling close to home and that often means a vacation home. Boats are selling like hotcakes. Earnings are expected to jump 60% in fiscal 2021. While shares are up 326% over the last year year, it’s still cheap, with a forward P/E of just 10.9.
5. ArcelorMittal (MT - Free Report) is the largest steel miner in the world. Earnings are expected to soar 984% in 2021. Shares have soared, as well, gaining 190% over the last year. But that big earnings growth still means that ArcelorMittal has a forward P/E of just 4.4. It’s dirt cheap. But is it a value trap?
Disclaimer: Tracey Ryniec is the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. She is also the Editor of the more
Full approval of the text article, less for the video cartoon.
Perhaps Munger and Buffett DO know what they are doing, even as it runs different from the stampede track.